Despite the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) expects a high voter turnout in the May 2022 polls.
Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez cited their experience during the Palawan as reason for this.
"We are expecting a high turnout," he said in a television interview Tuesday, Jan. 18.
"In Palawan last March, we expected that there will be a low turnout because of the pandemic. It turnout that the voters actually came in droves. From 40 percent projections we actually had a 61 percent voter turnout," added Jimenez.
In the past, the poll official also said that the voter turnout during presidential elections is usually higher compared to the midterm polls.
"Normally, the voter turnout during elections is like a wave. It goes up during presidential elections, and goes down during midterm elections. In 2016, we had a voter turnout of 80 percent. In 2019, we had about 76 percent voter turnout," Jimenez said.